Quartet has announced three new soundtrack releases -- the first CD release of Henry Mancini's score for actor-director Paul Newman's 1970 film version of Ken Kesey's logging drama SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION (sometimes screened as Never Give an Inch), featuring the same cues as the original MCA LP, which itself featured all of Mancini's brief score except for one 90-second cue -- the film received Oscar nominations for Richard Jaeckel's supporting performance and Mancini's original song "All His Children"; Lalo Schifrin's score for Jackie Chan's American starring debut, 1980's THE BIG BRAWL, directed by Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon, Game of Death), and featuring the same cues as the original Japanese LP; and Victor Reyes' score for the new sci-fi horror film COLD SKIN.

There aren’t a lot of film music concerts available in high definition, something that makes Eagle Rock’s new edition of HANS ZIMMER: LIVE IN PRAGUE the kind of title that’s well worth savoring. Though I’ve never been the biggest fan of Zimmer’s scores, especially over the last 15 years or thereabouts, this concert performance offers a generous helping of the composer’s film music output in a program that should delight fans.

The latest release from Intrada pairs the LP tracks from two Quincy Jones scores from the 1960s -- the star-laden Western MACKENNA'S GOLD, a film produced by none other than Dimitri Tiomkin, and his Oscar-nominated score for Richard Brooks' classic film version of Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD.

Varese Sarabande has announced three new CD Club releases, which can be pre-ordered now and are expected to begin shipping the week of November 20 -- a greatly expanded Deluxe Edition of Jerry Goldsmith's score for director Jan de Bont's lavish remake of THE HAUNTING, starring Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson; a Deluxe Edition of Maurice Jarre's score for the Paul Hogan fantasy-comedy ALMOST AN ANGEL, featuring both the full score tracks and the original CD sequencing; and an Encore Edition re-release of Craig Safan's score for the uplifting true-life drama STAND AND DELIVER, which earned Edward James Olmos a Best Actor Oscar nomination (Olmos and other cast-and-crew members are currently expected to take part in a November 18th public screening of the film at the Academy's Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, as part of the ongoing Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA at the Academy series.)

The label has also announced an upcoming boxed set -- STEPHEN KING SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION, an eight-disc set featuring two discs of W.G. Snuffy Walden's Emmy-nominated music from the epic miniseries adaptation of THE STAND (previously released by Varese as a single-disc CD); three discs of Nicholas Pike's score for the miniseries remake of THE SHINING (previously available only as a one-disc composer promo); a Deluxe Edition of James Newton Howard's DREAMCATCHER, his fifth score for writer-director Lawrence Kasdan; and Tangerine Dream's score for the 1984 film version of FIRESTARTER.

Kicking off Kino Lorber’s October releases, THE FLAMINGO KID (***½, 100 mins., 1984, PG-13) is a winning slice-of-life comedy from “Happy Days” creator Gary Marshall, starring Matt Dillon as a Brooklyn kid who gets a job as a cabana boy at a posh Long Island beach club during the summer of ’63. Richard Crenna plays a car dealer and local card shark who tutors Dillon in the game and life itself, much to the consternation of Dillon’s blue-collar dad Hector Elizondo, who is troubled by his son’s fascination with people from a “higher class.”

The latest release from La-La Land is the first CD of Alex North's score for the 1956 evil-child thriller THE BAD SEED, which earned Oscar nominations for actresses Nancy Kelly, Eileen Heckart and Patty McCormack. The La-La Land Bad Seed features the original LP tracks plus five additional cues.

The Bad Seed is currently planned to be the label's final release for the year until they close out 2017 with their annual "Black Friday" releases of high-profile and in-demand scores and box-sets, to be announced the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, November 24).

Varese Sarabande plans to announce their latest batch of CD Club releases next week.

On Sunday, November 5 at Santa Monica's Aero theater, the American Cinematheque has scheduled an advance screening (in 70mm!) of Kenneth Branagh's remake of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, and composer Patrick Doyle is currently scheduled to join the film's screenwriter, Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049, American Gods) in a discussion following the film.

After five Spider-Man movies, you might wonder what was left in the tank of Peter Parker’s webslinging adventures to translate to the big screen. Sony’s newest “reboot,” SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (**½, 133 mins., 2017, PG-13), may not provide overwhelming evidence that its existence was actually necessary, but the film still overcomes a bumpy start and a bland overall feel to provide an appealing enough ride for fans.

The October edition of FSM ONLINE is now live. This month‘s cover story, “Directors Who Yield Great Scores,” is the first part in a series on filmmakers who know the value of original music. Also this month, CARTER BURWELL discusses his three new films: GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI and WONDERSTRUCK; FSMO goes on location to the Hollywood Bowl live-to-film premiere of JANE, composed by PHILIP GLASS; Kyle Renick offers a detailed retrospective of the music in the films of Robert Mitchum; BEAR MCCREARY chats REBEL IN THE RYE and UNREST; WONG’S TURN looks at the intersection of film music and sound design; GORDY HAAB dishes on his score to the video game STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II; a JOHN BARRY Score Restore returns to THE DAY OF THE LOCUST; KLAUS BADELT catches us up on his adventures in China; more embedded audio clips, and more.

Subscribers, you’ll get notification by email shortly. Or, just go here to log in. For those who want to join FSM ONLINE, go here, click on the “Subscribe” link and follow the instructions. And email us if you have any questions.

Intrada has announced two new releases this week, both featuring scores from horror films from the 1980s -- a remastered version of director Frank LaLoggia's lush, Bernstein-esque score for his cult classic ghost story LADY IN WHITE (this two-disc set also includes LaLoggia's concept album "Frankie Goes to Tuscany"); and the first CD release of Richard Band's TERRORVISION (limited to 500 units.)

Varese Sarabande has announced three new CDs in their Limited Edition (500 units each for this batch) of contemporary scores, all from this year's films and expected to begin shipping next week: the animated sequel NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE, scored by Heitor Pereira (the Despicable Me/Minions films); the period thriller THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM, starring Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth and Eddie Marsan, scored by Johan Soderqvist (Let the Right One In, In a Better World, Kon-Tiki); and the score for the romance HAMPSTEAD, pairing Brendan Gleeson and Oscar winner Diane Keaton, directed by Joel Hopkins (Last Chance Harvey) and composed by Oscar winner Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, Billy Elliot).